Thursday, 2 February 2017

Thank you! I'm continually grateful for all the mailed reports on Walkerloo Print-fantry in action. They boost moral and help me understand my wider strategic position on the globe consequently informing Walkerloo's future. Below are digital photos included in a few of those reports. YES! that is a 1:20 scale Brunswick Lieb-Battalion firing line and Belgian Light Dragoons and French Caribiniers (- both types) and look out for 1:32 scale Polish Guard Lancers (the officer is my big brother) about to confront Russian Hussars!

Peter's Walkerloo Army Of The Rhine, near Frankfurt, Germany

Steve's Walkerloo Fusilier Columns in Australia

Leonid's Coldstreamers and Russian Infantry, St.Petersburg Russia

Howard's Walkerloo Borodino forces in the USA

Thursday, 11 February 2016

Early 2016 and two new regiments are added to the Walkerloo base on Wargame Vault. Primed for world wide digital dispatch are Napoleon's Guard Polish Lancers and foot gunners of the British Royal Regiment of Artillery. Each unit's creational motivation was boosted with the inclusion of YouWalkerloo portrait troopers, these paintings, now the property of their patrons.

You too can fight at the Battle of Walkerloo - new regiments are always recruiting. Details on my website.

2015 was the bicentennial year for the Battle of Waterloo. Note no 'Battle of Walkerloo' blog posts were recorded that year and only one Napoleonic flavoured regiment, the 5th Belgian Light Dragoons were deployed. However 2015 also marked the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt. A unit of English Archers inspired by that battle were posted on the wargame vault.

2015 also saw the release of a new StarWars movie 'The Force Awakens'. According to Wikipedia 250 Million dollars were spent promoting the film but it's supposed cultural significance made news media giddy. It was widly reported throughout the worlds independent press. Star Wars toys advance. I have my work cut out,,, cutting out soldiers... have you?

Friday, 12 December 2014

Two new Brunswick Print-fantry units are the first of a new type of paper soldier. The result of a collaboration between battle re-enactors and myTHself.

These units include four portraits of re-enactors who became patrons via a commission in their purchase and ownership of my paintings. They are now immortalised as Walkerloo print-fantry paper soldiers on Wargames Vault, available for immediate worldwide download and bladed extraction for real pretend play war.

I always want to make more units of paper soldiers to help prosecute my real pretend war and I’m often e-mailed with unit requests. But time and resources are limited. You-walkerloo commissions are a way for me to dedicate more time to the creation of new paper soldiers. The commissioning patron receives the original gouache portrait and is depicted as a paper soldier guaranteed a fighting part ever after in the Battle Of Walkerloo.

Anyone interested in a Walkerloo Commission can find details about the process on my website www.walkerloo.com. You needn’t be a re-enactor to join up, all I need is some photos of you in an appropriate pretend battle action and some cash. Men, women and children - all are accepted and just like stories from history of boys and women hiding their true identity to join the army in the Battle of Walkerloo you may appear younger, older, bigger or slimmer to suit your particular Print-fantry unit.

The Battle of Walkerloo needs you - together we can pretend to fight to set imagination free!!

To see which units are recruiting visit the RECRUITMENT PAGE where you can sign up for a portrait commission and parallel life as a print-fantry soldier on floors around the world. If you want to suggest your own choice of unit drop me an e-mail (at walkerloo.com) - If you can recruit your own comrades I can get painting right away and together we'll fill the world with new regiments of paper soldiers...

And consider, original paintings can sometimes even appreciate* in value... Oh the future!(*depending on the originality, noteriety and market orientation of the painter** [**social conectivity, interest utility, arrogance, self inflationancy, cultural poignancy, genius etc etc etc]).

Between 1683 and 1871 commissions to most officer ranks in the British army had to be bought (Wikipedia article). Commissions in the Battle of Walkerloo are also purchased although for very different reasons

Tuesday, 22 October 2013

Years ago I wrestled with making a living in advertising. Whilst in the full nelson of a bout I had a vision which showed another way... I'd rather sell myTHself... hmmm. But here and now in this month as WiP officer I have bought space in 'Toy Soldier & Model Figure' magazine and this is the ad that will run in it. GO BOY GO!

Friday, 2 August 2013

I was invited to show The Battle Of Walkerloo at the National Army Museum Toy Soldier Weekend in July 2013. A few weeks before the event I was allocated a large empty room to inhabit. I considered the operation and presented a quick sketch proposal to the museum which they liked.

I decided to paint a picture for one of the long walls to establish my occupation. I'd only a two week window in which to produce the mural and so I had to work fast and in quick drying stable arcylics.

I assembled an 'action' using my troops of all periods and scales against a bunch of unwanted mega corp plastic toys I bought from a second hand store. I took photos of this scene and used it to whip out with paint a large scene on 14 (Honda Jazz transportable) panels. I titled the picture 'The Last Stand Of The Battle Of Walkerloo Unfinished'. At the centre of the painting in the museum space I stood a YouWalkerloo PhotoBooth painting.

On the other long wall I suspended 10 picture frames containing some of the gouache paintings I made in the production of my toy soldier army. At the back of the room I made plinths to display the Waterloo and Borodino sets entire and we made a toy soldier sales table by the exit.

However it was on the floor in the centre of the room that the real play action took place. My armies are at war with the plastic mega corp toys and when they play battle with each other they are conducting the real pretend war and furthering the campaign against the endless movie spume. Victory can only come through play and wider distribution!

I play tested rules at a wargaming event in Lille and have finally evolved a set of rules that can be explained in about a minute and played out in about 40 minutes with much elastic band shooting action.

getting girls on board is surley the biggest medicine for any toy soldier maker!

For the two days of the show the two central battlefields saw constant action engaging and amusing much junior and senior General Public. The museum were very impressed by our performance. At the end of the weekend my toy soldiers re-established them selves in the National Army Museum shop where a substantial garrison is now displayed and more are boxed ready for immediate dispersal.

Thursday, 9 May 2013

A few years ago my soldiers and I engaged General Public in Greenwich Market. Whilst studying my stall's table top battle, a young boy asked me 'which side are the goodies?'

As a boy I remember asking my dad why the Germans wanted to be the baddies and why they didn't want to be on the goodies side just like me, my friends, all the Americans and the British (US WWII films were my cultural staple). I think he answered 'I don't know' or 'because' - he was a good dad but not very philosophical.

I asked the boy in Greenwich 'which country do you come from?' 'England' he said, and so I pointed out the British Army and said he would probably decide that they were the goodies. Then I told him I lived in France and I thought the French side were the goodies - I was being a provocateur my nationalist inclinations are unthinkingly British. We discussed our relative goody/baddy positions until finally his mother announced that the French were the baddies and the British were the goodies and they had to move on.

My enemies, the Mega Corp Toys from movies and TV have their wars between good and evil, dark and light, Jedi vs Darkside, Transformer vs Deceptacon - heros are corruptible and can turn to the dark side but the two sides remain clearly opposed, good vs bad.

History also gives us goodies and baddies but who the goodies and baddies are depends on which side we're allied to or where we live.

My dad could have answered my question saying it's a bit like football ... some people support Sunderland others support Newcastle each thinking their chosen team are the goodies. You're either 'red n white' or 'black n white' in North East England unless you were bored by football and when forced to decide chose Arsenal because it had a cannon on the badge.

Goodies and Baddies - to be continued!

In the meantime checkout the French Light Infantry Circa 1812 part of my Borodino series... Goodies? Baddies? Available as Walkerloo PDF Print-Fantry on WargameVault.

Real Pretend War!

For too long the imagination of children has been held captive by the calculating naratives of Film and TV. We must smash the links between the corporate dream factories in the West and the slave driving plastic toy factories in the East. Using history as inspiration I throw myself into the romantic conflict to set imagination free! WIP. WalkerlooInformation&Propaganda.2010.